Pope Pius XII established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955 as a way to encourage Catholics' strong devotion to Saint Joseph and as a response to Communist-sponsored "May Day" celebrations for workers. The long-standing connection between Joseph and the cause of laborers in Catholic devotion and faith is strengthened by this feast. The dignity of human labor has long been honored as a part of God's creation process, having its roots in the Book of Genesis. Humanity complies with Genesis 2:15's instruction to take care of the world and to be fruitful in their labors by working. One illustration of the sacredness of human labor is Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus.

Jesus was a carpenter as well. Before departing to pursue his ministry as a preacher and healer, he worked side by side in Saint Joseph's carpentry shop during his early adulthood, having learned the craft from him. "The Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society," said Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Laborem Exercens.

Saint Joseph is cited as an example of this kind of labor. "The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Saviour of the world", as Pius XII emphasized. However, no worker was ever more thoroughly and deeply penetrated by it than Jesus' foster father, who lived in close proximity to Him and in a community of family life and work.

Saints of the Day
Saint Riccardo Pampuri
Saint Peregrine Laziosi
Saint Isidora the Simple
Saint Benedict of Szkalka
Saint Augustus Schoffler